Initiated in 1996, the annual IWA Woman Extraordinaire Award honors a distinguished Chicago-area woman who has made outstanding contributions in her field and in the international arena (see full list below). According to IWA President Ana Manglano, “Roosevelt’s whole career has been devoted to public service at home and abroad, and IWA is delighted to recognize her outstanding achievements in this special way.”

As Vice President for Global Corporate Citizenship at Chicago-based Boeing Company, Roosevelt leads a network of U.S. and international community investors to address the needs of selected communities around the world. She is currently working with key non-governmental organizations in the Middle East to provide educational programs and entrepreneurship training to citizens of the region.

Roosevelt serves on the boards of Roosevelt University, Spelman College, and the Foundation for the National Archives, and is co-chair of the Franklin and Eleanor Institute in New York. She is a member of the advisory boards of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Foundation, the Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Previously Roosevelt served as the first executive director of Chicago’s Museums in the Park and director of the Mayor’s Office of Program Development for the City of Chicago. She managed the Chicago office of the late U.S. Senator Paul Simon and is a member of the Chicago Sister Cities Casablanca Committee.

IWA is a Chicago-area forum that promotes cross-cultural exchange, dialogue, and friendship among women with significant global experience and others in the larger community. Through its educational programs and other avenues. IWA creates links among diverse peoples and organizations and advocates for global understanding and universal human rights, especially those of women and girls.